The Georgia Mountains and Northeast Georgia regions saw record numbers for unemployed residents in the month of May, according to numbers released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor.
In the Georgia Mountains region, the number of employed residents grew to an all-time high of 339,051. That's an increase of 12,372 for the year. Employed residents in the Northeast Georgia region increased 10,718 for the year to an all-time high of 298,144.
“Georgia’s economy remains very strong,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “Across the board, the state’s numbers are very positive for the year and many areas continue to set records.”
In May, the unemployment rate in the Northeast Georgia region fell 0.2 percent to 3.3 percent, down from 4.3 percent a year ago. This is the second lowest unemployment rate of all 12 regions in the state. The rates vary from a low of 2.9 percent in the Georgia Mountains to 4.5 percent in the River Valley region. The rate for the Georgia Mountains region fell 0.2 percent to 2.9 percent and was down from 3.9 percent a year ago.
The Northeast Georgia labor force ended May at 308,350. That number is up 452 over the last month and up 7,895 over the last year; the Georgia Mountains labor force ended May at 349,327 – also an all-time high. That number is up 1,395 over the last month and up 9,335 over the last year.
Initial claims for unemployment were up about 16 percent for the month but down about 1 percent for the year in the Georgia Mountains region and in the Northeast Georgia region claims were up about 5 percent for the month but down about 5 percent for the year.
The Northeast Georgia region includes Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton counties; The Georgia Mountains region includes Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties.
Thursday
April 25th, 2024
1:53AM
